Alan Rickman

We are not off to a great start this year. First David Bowie, and now Alan Rickman.

You know when you hear that someone famous has passed and then for the first time realize how much you truly liked them? I've always liked Alan Rickman, but his death has put this into sharper perspective: why did I like him so? Rickman was an every-man, not classically handsome, but attractive; he was British and his delivery measured, which gave him a slightly sophisticated air; and he worked on stage and screen, which gave him pedigree. He may have been made famous to audiences playing Hans Gruber in Die Hard, but it is his softer performances that get me, specifically Truly Madly Deeply. What always stood out to me was his ability to make every character, even the villains, sympathetic or, at the very least, understandable. In my book, that is the mark of a good actor.

Selected filmography:

Die Hard

Truly Madly Deeply

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Sense and Sensibility

Galaxy Quest

Harry Potter movies

Love Actually

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Alice in Wonderland

Lee Daniel's The Butler

"Lightning has struck!": Midnight screening of final Harry Potter film

The final installment in the Harry Potter film series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, opened at midnight last week on July 15. While I have attended other midnight screenings and have been a Harry Potter fan for years, this is the first time I bought a ticket for a midnight Harry screening. I am so glad I did because it was a wonderful experience.

A small group of friends and I were the first group in line for the midnight screening at the CineMark in Melrose Park just after 8 PM. Several of the ushers asked us if we knew what time it was, and you could tell they thought we were out of our minds, but we didn't care. We played Uno to pass the time and were also able to see some unique Harry Potter outfits, notably a guy dressed in a decorated t-shirt that read: "Real men don't sparkle. Team Wizard." We were allowed into the theater around 10 PM, which left us with more time to check out the costumes of the other Harry Potter fans. Some made their own shirts touting the end of the series with the symbol of the deathly hallows, and others wore the colors and uniforms of the Hogwarts Houses -- Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. I myself wore a Harry Potter quidditch shirt, and brought along my illuminating Hermione wand. I was most impressed by fans dressed as characters from the series -- I saw Harry, Hagrid, Dobby, Bellatrix, Narcisa, Professor Trelawney, and Luna.

As it came closer for the previews to start, the audience started to clap and chant and I could literally feel the excitement from everyone around me. They were vocal in response to the trailers (lots of excitement for Sherlock Holmes) but became silent once the movie started. Part 2 picks up right where Part 1 left off, with Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) taking the Elder Wand from the hands of the dead Dumbledore. While Part 1 set the scene for Part 2, with Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) searching for and destroying horacruxes (a horacrux is an item that Voldemort infused with part of his soul, and hid, in order to insure his immortality), the much more action-packed Part 2 focuses on their return to Hogwarts and the fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. 

Some observations, without being too much of a spoiler:

• I enjoyed the scene where Hermione poses as the mad Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter) in Gringotts after taking Polyjuice Potion. Watching Bonham Carter play Hermione trying to be evil and horrible (and failing) was fun.
• I loved seeing Harry, Ron, and Hermione return to Hogwarts and re-join the other characters we've met throughout the series, like Neville (Matthew Lewis), and Luna (Evanna Lynch). While the characters have spent seven years at Hogwarts as students, the actors filming these eight movies have been together even longer. Seeing all the students and teachers back together again, ready to face Death Eaters, Voldemort, and risk their lives, was very powerful.
• Ralph Fiennes is disturbing as ever as Voldemort, and I thought the army of Death Eaters waiting to begin their attack on Hogwarts was a very creepy sight.
• The shot of Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) looking out a window at Hogwarts. It's early in the movie, and at first we only see him from behind, but I found it to be a moving visual, already knowing Snape's secrets from reading the book. 
• I knew the deaths of certain characters were coming, but it was still shocking to see in the movie.
• The audience in my theater was awesome. They cheered and clapped at moments like Ron and Hermione's first kiss, Neville's taunts of the Death Eaters, and Molly Weasley's duel with Bellatrix, just to name a few moments. The audience went wild for Neville, especially. 

I loved the movie and had a great time seeing it with a packed theater of devoted fans. Throughout the course of the movie I clapped, laughed, gasped, held my breath, and cried. I was filled with so much excitement that when I returned home at 3:30 AM I could not fall asleep. I look forward to watching Part 2 on the big screen again. I saw the 2D version and I would like to see if/how 3D changes the experience. All in all, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is a brilliant, epic conclusion to the film series that started in 2001, and not only does the film do the book justice, it reaffirms the quality and magic found in J.K. Rowling's books.

Recipes and baked goods inspired by pop culture

I stumbled across the blog Diamonds for Dessert as I was researching potential recipes for our Harry Potter Movie Release Party. After checking out the Harry Potter recipes I looked at other posts and discovered some of the coolest, most creative baking ideas I've found in recent memory. College student Susan S. runs the blog, where she shares photos and recipes of recent baking/cooking projects (all of them do not deal with pop culture, but everything looks delicious) .

Anyway, if you are like me and enjoy both baking and pop culture, you will definitely find some fun ideas on the Diamonds for Dessert blog. I'm including a few highlights below-- be sure to click on the links to read the posts in full!

Glee Cookies
Too cool for words and perfect to serve at a Glee Viewing Party! We just need to add Brittany, Santana, Sam, Mike Chang, and Blaine cookies to the group!

Eat Me cookies from the 1951 animated film Alice in Wonderland

Sorting Hat Bread from the Harry Potter Party menu

View the full menu from Harry Potter party here. The Butterbeer recipe looks very easy to make and serve; I wish I had used that recipe for last Saturday's party instead of my rushed concoction of ice cream, butterscotch syrup, and vanilla cream soda.

All photo screen captures were taken from Diamonds for Dessert blog and were used with permission.

November events for film fans at the Dundee Library

Harry Potter Movie Release Party
Saturday, November 13 at 2:30 PM
Muggles of all ages, be sure to arrive at Platform 9 3/4 (The Meeting Room) promptly at 2:30 PM as we celebrate the release of the movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1. Test your Harry Potter knowledge by playing trivia games and win cool prizes! We'll even eat and drink foods and beverages that are mentioned in the books. Best of all, hang out with fellow HP fans less than a week before the movie comes to theaters! Spaces are filling up, so be sure to register. You can call 847-428-3661 x 308 or click on the link above.

The Shawshank Redemption
Thursday, November 18 at 6 PM
Rated R
Last installment of Catch a Classic at the Library: Stephen King Adaptations

How to Train Your Dragon
Saturday, November 20 at 2 PM
Rated PG
Arrive early to get your popcorn and drinks before the movie starts!

Robin Hood (2010)
Rated PG-13
Tuesday, November 23 at 6 PM

I'll also have information on upcoming movies we are showing in December, January, and February. No tickets or reservations are required for the movies, but the audience capacity is limited to 80 people. Saturday screenings tend to be filled near capacity, so it is recommended you arrive 10-15 minutes early for those showtimes. The door to the Meeting Room opens 30 minutes prior to the start of the movie. Free popcorn and refreshments are served at each movie. Children under the age of 9 must be accompanied by an adult.

Harry Potter 7 trailer: The excitement builds!

The trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final installment in author J.K. Rowling's popular series, was recently released. This movie will actually be split into two parts. Part 1 comes to theaters on November 19, 2010, and Part 2 is released July 15 2011. What do you think of the trailer? If you've read the book, you know that a key scene, Harry's final battle with Voldemort, is altered in the movie-- the scene is not set in the Great Hall surrounded by the other characters. I will have to see how the scene plays out in the movie, because I thought the way Rowling wrote the scene was quite brilliant. Anyway, I am still unbelievably excited for both parts of Deathly Hallows. Accio anticipation for HP7!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie night recap

Thank you to everyone who attended our free screening of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince this afternoon! A great audience of 40 people came to watch the movie. This is the second highest audience turnout we've had since the library's renovation (the Monsters vs. Aliens screening in November currently holds the top spot)! For a two and half hour movie I thought people might start to get restless, but the action really held everyone's attention. I wish I could insert myself into the scene at Professor Slughorn's supper party where Hermione, Harry, and other Hogwarts students are eating ice cream out of glass goblets the size of soup bowls. Yum! I also think the library at Hogwarts is pretty neat: in one scene, as Hermione walks from one set of stacks to another, all she has to do is hold a book up and then it magically floats to its proper place on the shelf. And, of course, you gotta love Ron Weasley. Unlucky with love potions but awesome on the Quidditch pitch!

Have you seen Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince? What did you think?

If you haven't watched the movie yet, or would like to see it again, put yourself on hold for a copy from the library:
Find it in the catalog!